My favourite item is the 'TV Temptress' bracelet, made from salvaged materials in my two favourite colours.

And the matching brooch is just perfect. Oh, and they also match so well with my two favourite rings, so I've been a well-accessorised girl lately :)

Not content with giving only beautiful handmade jewellery, Helen also gave me some gorgeous upholstery fabric samples, two absolutely beautiful huge vintage buttons (maybe bakelite??) and a block of my favourite chocolate!!! Thank-you so much Helen, I adore your gifts, and can't wait to catch up again at the BrisStyle Market!!!

Oh, and speaking of the BrisStyle market, I've been lying a bit low lately and just sew sew sewing my heart out. I've never done a maket before so I'm so excited and also nervous. I've just got everything crossed that I'm going to have enough stock. It's silly but every time I get a sale through etsy now my first thoughts are "oh no, now I have to make another bag to keep my market item numbers up..." Is this normal - does everyone who sells at markets get like this before a market. Or is it just me? I've an awful suspicion that everyone is now looking at their shoes, the ceiling...oh I think I just heard someone shuffle their foot and start whistling...

Anyway, back to lovely things. Another lovely thing is that my lovely sister has started blogging. Yay!!! She has recently been learning to sew (have I mentioned that my evil plan is to lure her into the world of crafting, sewing and blogging, so that she will then be addicted and we can both run a little handbag making business and we'll never have to go back to our old jobs when the kids go to school....EVER!!!! HAHAHAHAHAHA! Ok, that was an evil laugh as I threw my head back with my hands in the air....somehow I feel that nuance was lost in the literary translation. Sorry.) So back to Jade (my sister).

She is married to a very successful Brisbane chef, so her blog is a mixture of her new foray into sewing and craft, and also a foodie blog (with a measure of 'new mum' stuff thrown in as well - you know, feeding, sleeping, pooing. All that good kid stuff.) You might guess the foodie part by the name. Just Needs Salt. Being the blanderamo eaters that Matt and I are, we often kid Jade and Kym about their sodium intake. So check it out - she writes well (not that I'm biased) and may I say that she is making some AWESOME bags (ahem...again, not that I'm biased) and I'm sure that not only will it put a smile on your face, but I'm sure that if Jade actually gets a comment on her blog from someone other than me it will put a huge smile on her face too!!!

Oooh oooh oooh, last lovely thing (I promise). A while back I treated myself to a new knitting needle necklace from Liana Kabel, a local Brissy designer with gorgeous taste in recycled plastic. And while having the obligatory 'dress-up' session that one must have after purchasing something new (ie. working out which outfits said item looks best with etc). I realised that my favourite outfit was Brisbane through and through.

So I took a photo - necklace by Liana (Brissy jeweller), top by Dogstar (Brisbane clothing designer), bag by me (sleep-deprived Brissy mum), and jeans....well, unfortunately they were probably made in a sweatshop in China I guess, but they had worn out some time ago, and instead of throwing them away I decided to mend the knee, and keep on keeping on with them. And I'm really glad I did. Instead of being embarrassed by my darned knee, I am actually quite proud of it. And of course I've convinced myself that it is the height of fashion. I even asked my biggest critic, and he agreed with me. Hey don't laugh, my four year old has great taste!!!!

Wednesday, November 19, 2008

I think this title pretty much sums me up at the moment. Life really is whizzing along at a spectacular speed, but mostly in a good way. Perfect timing really to receive this lovely Pay It Forward gift from Big Cat on Monday.

The beautiful artwork she made was just the reminder I needed to stop and have a cup of tea (Melbourne Breakfast Tea in fact, which was delightful) and start reading the book that was also included in the package. Thank-you SO much!!!!! It was just the best way to start off the week.

And just a little note tomyown Pay It Forward recipients, I have not forgotten you. I have put aside 6 weeks over the Christmas/New Year break which will be dedicated to all things fun and crafty, which includes getting those Pay It Forward gifts finished and posted off :)

I am both super excited and super nervous about turning up to the opening on Friday evening to see some of my bags and bookmarks displayed with so many other talented artists. Also looking forward to having an 'adult' and 'kid free' evening - we're even going to grab some Vietnamese afterwards which will be a fabulous way to finish up the night!

So yeah, if you find yourself in Brisbane this Friday and with not much else to do between 6pm and 8pm then come down to Reverse Garbage for the exhibition opening, and check out all the lovely exhibits (two other BrisStyle members - Helen from Ruby2GoGo and Ruby Red Studios, and Ali from Jellygnite will also be exhibiting, as will fellow blogger Sally from djbebe).

Everything being shown will also be for sale, and in fact the whole of Reverse Garbage itself will be open, so you can grab a paper bag and start filling. Go nuts!!!

And of course, don't forget folks, that the BrisStyle Blog Giveaway is still open until this Friday, so if you haven't left a comment, make sure you pop on over for your chance to win some fantastic gift packs, made up of a variety of handmade goods donated by the BrisStyle members.

And speaking of all things BrisStyle, I'm madly sewing away trying to get ready for the BrisStyle Christmas Market on 13th December. It will be my first ever market and I'm SOOOOOO nervous. I still haven't got my signage or display stuff organised. I've been collecting bits and pieces that I think will work for displaying my bags, but I really need to pull out my table and see if it is all going to come together. I'm starting to feel like I'm really running out of time.....eeekkkkkkk!!!!

Well that's it from me. I'm late, I'm late, for a very important date.....with some nappies (which will be off to a new home in the Blue Mountains soon - hopefully Kara will find them useful). And I will have a whole storage tub free to fill up with some other useful junk...I mean...stuff...I mean really useful and uh, necessary items....:P

So last post I was a busy elf, this post I'm the white rabbit. Just wait, by next post I may be the mad hatter...

Sunday, November 2, 2008

Yes, I've been giggling madly and working furiously and basically doing an all round impersonation of what I imagine one of Santa's elves to be like. Which is why I've been absent from blogland lately. But now it has all come together, I'd like to bring your attention to:

The giveaway is being run by BrisStyle, a Brisbane based Etsy Street team that I belong to. And I have been madly collecting goodies, making lists (don't worry, I've been checking them twice) and doing lots of other associated elfy things :P

Basically, as part of a big pre-Christmas promotional exercise, we at BrisStyle have put together 3 huge gift packs of handmade goodies from 17 of our members. Each pack is valued at over US $100, and is chockers full of great gifts including jewellery, softies, accessories, bags and artworks.

So what are you doing here? Get thee to the BrisStyle blog - you may win something very cool, and you'll make me feel like I've been a good little elf :P

Looking forward to taking off my pointy hat off now, and catching up with everyone around the bloggy traps again!